Stationery



April 12 1,938a c. BRATE ZJMJSG STATIONERY Filed Jan. 25, 1936 @i.-9,lNvEN-roR 0 2e\ man M Patented Apr. 12, 1938 UNITED STATES PAT-ENTOFFlCE 3 Claims.

This invention relates to mailable items of the nature of letter sheetscombined with means by which the letter sheet may be sealed in suchfashion as to keep its contents secret during transmission to theaddressee, the sheet being so folded as to cause parts thereof toenclose or envelope other parts, so that for the sake of brevity an itemof this character when made according to the present invention isreferred to herein as an Envel-letter, or more simply an envelletter.

An object of the invention is to provide an article of the abovecharacter comprising an envelletter fold or sheet element of anysuitable size and material adapted to receive on a substantial part ofits area a Written or printed communication and the article includesalso an envelletter seal element made of separately formed stripmaterial adapted to be folded over the edges of two or more adjacentplies, of the folded sheet element, being secured thereto in embracingrelation and thus constituting a seal co-extensive with said edges, orat least such a substantial portion of their length as to render thecontents of the communication secret.

A cognate object of my invention is to provide supply of the envelletterseal element in the form of a roll of suitable strip material, such aspaper, thin linen fabric, or a material of the group includingcellophane, cellulose-acetate and glassine, having on one of its facesgurnmed areas, preferably extending lengthwise of the supply strip,along each margin thereof, and spaced from each other to leave agum-free area lengthwise of the strip.

The purpose of this provision is to make it possible for users of theenvelletters to obtain a supply roll of the sealing strip ready to beused, so that the individual user can, with any available household oroffice implement, sever from the roll a sealing element of the rightlength to i'lt over the edge of any selected size of folded envellettersheet and can assemble the sealing element with the folded sheetadhesively, after first moistening the gummed areas of the sealingelement.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mailable object of theclass described with a gummed marginal sealing strip element having agum-free fold along the extremities of the underlying sheet-edges,embraced by the sealing strip, so that any tendency to cause adherenceof the edges to each other will be obviated, by reason of the absence ofgum at that region.

As a corollary, the gum-free condition provides for the easy opening ofthe seal by the ad- (Cl. 22B-92.1)

dressee, Who can accomplish the opening operation by simply slitting thesealing strip from end to end with a letter-opener, without marring theedges of the sheet but maintaining the sealing strip in place in theform of two moieties of strip material, one along each of the partededges, each moiety having a clean-cut edge.

Another object of the invention is to provide a stock strip of sealingmaterial adapted to be severed either manually or by suitable mechanisminto a multiplicity of individual envelletter sealing elements to beapplied as above described. This stock strip will make a convenientmeans for applying a return address to each envelletter, by printingalong the length of the gummed stock strip the address of the sender,repeated with such frequency that the strip can be severed at anydesired regions in cutting off the seals for any given number ofenvelletters,

thus providing seals of exactly the right length without regardl to theposition of the address or other legend.

Still another object is to provide such a sealing strip of suitable sizeto permit the printing of inscription thereon of the addressees name andpost cnice address, in such relationship with the postage stamp appliedto the envelletter that when the stamp is cancelled by the postalauthorities With any of the conventional dated cancelling devices, thestrip will serve as a record of the mailing of the communication towhich it is permanently attached, and will thereby constitute provableevidence of its transmission through the mails.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear as thedescription of the particular physical embodiment of the inventionselected for illustration progresses.

In the accompanying drawing, like characters of reference have beenapplied to corresponding parts throughout the several views included inthe drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view in perspective of a sheet of paper adapted for usein carrying the invention into effect; 2 shows said sheet partly folded;Fig'. 3 shows the same in a further stage of folding; Fig. 4 shows thefolded sheet in readiness to be sealed; Fig. 5 is a view in perspectiveupon an enlarged scale of the complete envelletter, provided with asealing strip element bearing a return address and stamp, and with thename and postoflice address of the addressee duly inscribed; Fig. 6 is aView in end elevation of an envelletter after its sealing element hasbeen parted by slitting it to permit the envelletter to be opened out;Fig. '7 is a View in plan, on a reduced scale, of the envelletter,opened out after the seal has been slitted; Fig. 8 is a schematic Viewin perspective of a supply roll of stock envelletter sealing strip,comprising a multiplicity of sealing elements, ready to be severed intoindividual seals so that each will bear one or more return addresses;Fig. 9 is a View in plan of a section of strip showing a modification inthe form of the sealing elements. I

In a now-preferred embodiment of the invention selected for illustrationand description, the part designated by the reference character Il is asheet of paper which constitutes the body of an envelletter made inaccordance with the present invention having printed or inscribed uponat least one surface thereof, as indicated schematically by the linesI2, any desired communication, such as a personal or business letter, anadvertisement, or any other desired legend or illustrative orinformative matter.

For the sake of convenience, Fig. 1 is furnished with dot-dash lines I3,I4, I5, I6 although these need not be present upon the actual lettersheet,

- as they merely indicate where the sheet is to be folded.

In Fig. 2, the sheet has been doubled along the line IS and then againon the lines I4 and I5 so that when pressed together, these in-foldedportions occupy the relative positions indicated in Fig. 3.

So, in Fig. 4, the sheet is shown after a transverse folding of thealready infolded parts on the line I6 and now all of the originallongitudinal margins or edges represented by the reference numerals I'Iand I8 are brought together along what has now become the upper edge I9of the envelletter, although the designation upper" is not used in alimitative sense.

In pursuance of the invention, the user now applies to the edge I9 anenvelletter seal element 28 as shown in Fig. 5, and which may desirablybe one of a series severed from a strip Y2| kept in stock in the form ofa supply roll 22 of such elements (see Fig. 8). This strip is made incontinuous form having on the reverse side gummed areas 23 and 24,extending along its lower margins, a lengthwise gum-free area 25 beingleft therebetween.

When so applied to the envelletter fold the gum-free region 25 iscontiguous to the edge I9 forming a fold binding the same, but notsecured adhesively to the extreme edges I'I, I8, so that the edges Iland I8 are gum-free and do not adhere to each other, although they areso closely united that the communication represented by the lines I2 iscompletely sealed-in and is therefore kept secret, until the recipientslits the sealing strip along the region 25, using a sharp paper cutteror knife preferably or shearing the same in such a way that clean edgesare left, as shown in Figs. 6 and '7, at 2G and 3U respectively.

In pursuance of another feature of the invention, already set forth withsome detail, the strip 2l illustrated in the present instance has beenimprinted, as at 25, with the name and address of the sender,repetitively along its length, so that the individual seal elementdesignated 28 in the drawing is shown as having several of the returnaddresses so imprinted.

It is to be noted, accordingly, that the user can be supplied with aroll, so printed, embodying say a thousand or more envelletter sealelements, for indiscriminate combination with a correspondinglyproportionate number of envelletter folds, the latter being ofconvenient dimensions and material to serve the varying requirements ofcorrespondence.

If desired, the stock seal strip may have the return addresses so spacedas to leave room for inscription of the name and post-office address ofthe addressee as at 2'1, in Fig. 9 and it may be found desirable in manyinstances to apply thereto the postage stamp, or permit as at 28, inprepayment of the postal rate appropriate for the class of mail matterto which the item belongs. W'hen so stamped, the cancelling of thepostage stamp with any conventional dated canceller will provide theaddressee with a suitable official indication of the transmission of thearticle through the mails.

While I have illustrated and described a physical embodiment of theinvention I Wish it to be understood that such illustrative embodimentdoes not exhaust the possibilities of physical embodiments of the ideaof means underlying this invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates, is:

l. A mailing piece comprising a sheet of adhesive-free material bearingupon a suitable portion of its surface a communication to betransmitted, said sheet being folded upon itself to form a polygonalfolder closed along all of its edges but one against inspection of saidcommunication, and having the several free marginal portions of thefolded plies of said sheet brought into juxtaposition along theremaining open edge; and a separately formed seal element combined withsaid folded sheet being secured adhesively in folded relation over saidopen edge substantially throughout the extent thereof, and whichconstitutes the exclusive sealing means for said mailing piece, saidseal element being characterized by a strip of sheet material havinggummed areas parallel with and secured adhesively to the contiguousfaces of said marginal portions of said sheet, and having a gum-freearea constituting a fold embracing the adjacent sheet margins along saidinitially open edge, whereby Said folder is completely sealed againstinspection of said communication, said folded sealing element presentingan imperforate area at each margin of the enfolded edges to which it isattached, and being so disposed that it can be slitted evenly by aninstrument inserted between said edges, and thereby each moiety of thesealing element will remain in place as a smooth selvage along thedivided edges of the letter sheet.

2. As an article of manufacture, a stock sealing strip comprising animperforate strip of flexible material of indefinite length formed withgummed marginal Zones and a medial longitudinal gum-free zone, saidstrip bearing on its other face a series of legends or imprints such asmailing return addresses, the strip being designed to be severed into amultiplicity of sealing elements of desired length, each having asuitable quantum of adhesive on one side and a legible quantum of thelegend on the other side, said legends being disposed in repetitionindiscriminately of the regions at which said strip may be severed toform individual sealing elements.

3. As an article of manufacture, a stock sealing strip in the form of aroll comprising a strip of flexible material having the features claimedin claim 6.

CHARLOTTE BRATE.

' CERTIFICATE opi coRREcTIoN.

`Apri1-1i2g V'19553.

Patent No. 2,11LL,1O.

l v CHARLOTTE BRATE.

v11; is. herebyleergtifiedthat Jeri-or appears 1n' 'the printedspecifiatih V'of the above'umlberedvpatln-t requrin'gborrebtn as fllws:Page 2,' second column, vline 75; claim 5, forth 1'am"referca *numeral*6,5' read 2l;- and that the Said Letters Patent 'shuldb readirvichfthis4 c'orrectionitherein that the Sgmefzgy' 'c onf'orn'iftth'e'r'ecbrd-'Ofth'e caseinxth'e Patnt Office,V

' signed and Sealed-this 51st day bf may; A.D. 1958.

Henry V'an Arsd'ale

